Hosiery drying apparatus



Jan. 2; 1934.

P, GUGGENHEIM HOSIERY DRYING APPARATUS Filed April 9, 1950 qu/ a/aye/zew'm y v/vini' W/ rMe-ss: @fw- Patented Jan. 2, 1934 l 1,941,893 nosmay DRYING APPARATUS Paul Guggenheim,Philadelphia, Pa., assignor to Philadelphia Metal Drying Form Company, ll'hiladelphia, Pa., a corporation of Delaware Application April`9, 1930. Serial No. 442,733

y2 Claims. (Cl. 21S-19) This'invention relates tohosiery drying appa-` ratus and *particularly to apparatus including hollow internally heated metal forms. While the apparatus is particularly well adapted for the drying of hosiery, it is not intended to limit the invention to drying forms for hosiery alone,`

since various features ofthe invention may be applied to drying forms for other articles,

' Dryingl forms of the internally heated typey heretofore commonly used have been substantially'uniformly heated throughout their surface portions `'contacting with the hosiery or other article'` being dried and shaped. In the case of stockings, this uniform heating is undesirable in view of the fact that a sufficient amount of heat to dry the heavier foot portions and top or welt portions of the stocking within a reasonable time is excessive when applied to the lighter leg portions of a stocking. Conversely the proper so amount of heat applied to the leg portion of f a stocking 4is insufficient to thoroughly dry within a reasonable 'time the heavier portions thereof. One object of the present invention is accordingly to apply to various portions of the heatingv form different amounts of heat whereby each portion is fheated just sufliciently to produce the proper results upon the portion of an article located in contact therewith. LA further object of the invention relates to the provision of means for readily varying the ,jdegree 'offheat' applied to lthe apparatus as a whole;` Preferablythe amounts of heat applied to l'different portions ofthe form bear similar ratios irrespective of the degree of total heat.

Detailed objects of the invention will be clear from the following description read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation illustrating a portion of the improved apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a view of a portion of the heating element; and

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3--3 of Fig. 1.

The apparatus consists of a table 2 of the usual type in which a number of hosiery drying forms 4 may be detachably mounted preferably being pivotally mounted therein for rotation about a substantially vertical axis. Each of these forms may be of the conventional shape, namely, with opposed fiat surfaces tapering at their ends to edges shaped to conform to the article being dried, in the present case a stocking. The drying form is hollow and formed of metal.

Within the hollow drying form is located a heating assembly which, in its preferred form, comprises a heat resistant insulating plate 6 of mica or the like about `which are wound` heating coils 8 and l0, each of which is advantageously formed of a thin ribbon of resistance metal. 1n the present embodiment rtwo separate heating coils are provided. The first, designated 8, is of ribbon of relatively large cross section. Intermediate the convolutions of this ribbon is a ribbon 10 of smaller cross section. Accordingly,

if the two ribbons are of the same material and of substantially the same length, the sainey ter- 55 minal voltage lapplied to each will produce a greater heating effect in coil 8 of lower resistance than in the coil 10 of higher resistance. The coils are preferably of substantially the same length so that this result is attained. The unit consisting of the insulating plate `6 woundwith the coils is faced by insulating plates 12 of` similar material to plate 6, the whole being contained withina metallic casing consisting of twoplates 1.4 and 16, the former having the edges overlapping and confining the latter. The entire unit is of the general shape indicated in Fig. 1, roughly conforming to the shape of the drying form and removable therefrom for ready. replacement of burnt out heating elements.

Each of the heating coils 8 and '10 is non-uniformly wound upon the supporting plate 6. For example, in the foot portion-18 of the drying form the convolutions are relatively close together. In the leg portion of the form the convolutions are considerably spaced. Again, in the portion of the form arranged to carry the welt of the stocking thek convolutions are arranged closely together. Asa result of this arrangement either of the coils effects the application of `heat to the surface adjacent to any portion thereof, so that the ratio of heat radiated by one portion of the heating means to a unit of outer surface area of the form adjacent thereto and receiving a substantial amount of heat therefrom is different fromthe ratio of heat radiated by another portion of the means to a unit of outer surface area of the form adjacent to the last mentioned portion and receiving a substantial amount of heat therefrom. The greater amount of heat is applied to the portion of the form 18 and 22 as compared with 20, since the heavier parts of the stocking carried l by these portions of the form absorb correspondingly greater amounts of water which should be evaporated therefrom in about the same time required to evaporate water from the thinner leg portions of the stocking. Using either of the coils, there is thus effected, by the proper distribution of heat, a substantially simultaneous drying of all portions of the stocking wherebyI an overheating resulting in possible scorching of the thinner portions .is avoided.

The ends of the coils 8 and l0 are brought to three terminals, one of the terminals being connected to one end of the coil 8, another to one end of coil 10, and the third to the remaining ends of both coils. These terminals are connected by suitable conductors to portions of a plug adapted to engage a socket carried by a conduit 23 extending horizontally below the table 2. This conduit carries three wires to which prongs of sockets are connected. In this manner any number of drying forms may be connectedto wires extending from a control box designated generally by the numeral 24. The wire which is joined to the common terminals of the two coils 8 and l0 of the Various drying forms through the plug and socket connection, is indicated at 32 and is shown as connected to one terminal of a double pole single throw switch on the control board. The other pole of this switch is connected by a wire 36 to a rotary contact making member 34 arranged to contact selectively with any of the contacts 26, 28, 29 or 30. The contacts 26 and 29, which may form a single contact, are joined to the wire in the conduit 23 which is adapted to be connected through the plug and socket with the terminal of coil 8 which is unconnected to the common terminal of the two coils. The contacts 28 and 30 are similarly joined to the corresponding end of the heating coil 10. The blades of the switch are arranged to engage forked contacts connected to the sides of a direct or alternating current supply line.

From the above it will be seen that engagement of the contact 34 with contact 28 alone will energize the coil 10' only, thereby producing a moderate heating of the drying form. Engagement with contact 26 alone will energize coil 8 only, whereby a greater amount of heat is imparted to the drying form. In a third position, when contact 34 engages both contacts 29 and 30, both coils 8 and 10 are energized imparting a still larger amount of heat to the drying form. In each of these cases the heat is applied unevenly to the various portions of the form, the foot and lwelt portions being given more heat than the leg It will be obvious that the above arrangement may be applied to heating, shaping and drying other articles than hosiery, particularly if such articles are of uneven weight in various parts thereof.

It will be obvious that the uneven heating oi' the form may be attained in a number of difierent ways. Considering only one oi the heating coils, it will be noted that the uneven heating is effected in the present instance by the use of a uniform coil which is so arranged that a greater amount of length occurs 'in certain portions of the apparatus than in others. Instead of using a uniform coil so arranged, a coil having portions of different resistance in series might be arranged with evenly spaced convolutions throughout. In such case the portions of greater resistance would impart a larger amount of heat to the part of the form adjacent thereto than the portions of less resistance. Alternatively parallel arrangements of resistance elements might also accomplish similar results if the various sections were evenly spaced. These modications, which are within the scope of the invention, -will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A hollow drying form for hosiery having different electrical heating means therein adapted, when subjected to the same terminal voltage, to impart different total amounts of heat to the form, said different heating means comprising similarly arranged conductors of different resistance, each conductor comprising a wire doubled upon itself and supported within the drying form with its terminals at the bottom of the form, the conductors being wound so that the turns of one lie between the turns of the other, and means for alternatively connecting either conductor to a supply line.

2. A hollow drying form for hosiery having different electrical heating means-therein adapted, when subjected to the same terminal voltage, to impart different total amounts of heat to the form, said different heating means comprising similarly arranged conductors of different resistance, each conductor comprising a wire doubled upon itself and supported within the drying form with its terminals at the bottom of the form, the conductors being wound so that the turns of one lie between the turns of the other, and means for alternatively or simultaneously connecting either conductor to a supply line.

PAUL GUGGENHEIM.

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